Question on Linux as a fileserver/print server

[James Brigman]

Warning and disclaimer: this is a long but hopefully useful response to the
original questions repeated below. Some entertainment value is distilled at
the expense of others. Consider it a compliment. Revenge is acceptable as
long as it's fashionable, clever and saved for another time.

**********

> Setup:  Small business,  has 25 users, all running Windows workstations.
> Currently they have a Novell server used for file (space)serving and
> print serving. The business needs to upgrade to a new file server....
...
> Replacing the Novell solution with another Novell solution will be about
> $4000 (software only).  Moving to a Windows solution, about $1200.
> Is Linux a viable replacement solution for the Novell server,
> assuming that we assume a lot of the answers that I didn't know to ask?
>
> I told him that SAMBA most likely would work for his file serving
> needs, although I've never set that up myself.  And that I wasn't
> sure about the print serving aspects for Linux.

SAMBA on a fresh Linux distribution would kick holy smoking BUTT as a
replacement for an old Novell system. I can feel the hot breath and warm
slobber running down my back as I imagine the TriLUG guys reading your email
message and frothing at the mouth to decommission that poor lil' Novell
server.

However (and I think they would agree with me) the debbil is in the details
on this job. There's a fair amount of information to collect here first in
order to save the day with Linux.

I don't want to start any flamewars here, but I'll offer up a few tidbits
for your consideration, while we in the triangle have all been imprisoned
indoors from the incredibly bad weather outside. It makes being on the
computer just that much sweeter and guilt-free....

Hardware
--------
First, and foremost, what motivates the need for an upgrade? If it's speed,
there might be some hardware help for the Novell server. I realize that
there are driver-level considerations for the Novell software install that
could make "point hardware upgrades" impractical, or even be the reason for
the $4k price tag. However, hardware upgrades can't be ignored, whether
staying with Novell or migrating to Linux. Adding some new hardware to the
mix could make a Linux swapout sparkle even more.

One of the new Maxtor 80GB or 120GB HDD's with the new 8MB cache and serial
ATA133 interface might provide a nice boost in disk access. (WD and seagate
have similar drives arriving in stores soon.) If it's an older ATX system,
maybe go to a new motherboard, a big chunk of RAM (since it's so freaking
cheap right now) as well as a fast 2Ghz or more CPU, and you might could
double the performance of the server before ever touching the software. (The
Maxtor products come with MaxBlast, which lets you image the contents of the
old hard drive onto the new drive. It's kickin.) The changes I'm talking
about here could be accomplished with parts bought in Raleigh or Durham for
under $500 with some judicious shopping at a couple places.

If the server box is so old that it's NOT an ATX system, then a new
motherboard is a must: throw away the existing motherboard/case/PS and get a
nice new mbd/case/ps. Re-use the floppy, CD-ROM, backup device (whatever
that might be). At that point, however, you're perilously close to just
going for a whole new server. But still, you're spending consumer-class
bucks and not being taken in by Dell for "commercial server class bucks".
Getting "server class" hardware for "consumer class" pricing is something
the demented system admin such as myself gets enormous satisfaction from.
It's like getting to re-live the Prometheus myth without the liver
problems....

Of course, I'm assuming the entire network for this little 25-client system
is at least CAT5 cabling running 100Mbps ethernet over a modern ethernet
switch. If we're talking about a network still using an old ethernet HUB or
running 10Mbps (do they still exist?) then touching anything before
upgrading the ethernet is foolish...by a factor of 100.

"Console and video" is something to be aware of with a Linux switchover.
You've got to make sure Linux will run with their current video card and
monitor. It's highly unlikely Linux won't support what they've got, but if
they have really, really old hardware (Remember that awful Trident "Vesa
Local Bus" card?) then they might have to switch it out for something newer.
NOT going with "state of the art" is desireable for a server video card and
monitor. A nice little ATI or older TNT card and a decent $150 17" monitor
would work fine.

Software/Administration
-----------------------
It's been over ten years, but Novell was, as I remember, a nearly "stand
alone" type of system. Once configured and running, I've known a Novell
server to survive amazingly well in the hands of some pretty non-technical
people. You can power off a novell server sponteaneously and it could
survive. I'm guessing it's still pretty good at living without an admin.

Linux is good at living without an admin too. But you've got to give it the
same prenatal care that the Novell server got for that $4000 price tag the
guy mentioned. (oh, he forgot to mention that the $4k provided some
preconfiguration and installation support, right?) To be fair to Linux,
you've got to budget for that prenatal care, too. You might get a rabid
Linux'er to do the install for cheap, but spending more on a seasoned expert
is well worth the money. There are more mines in the server upgrade path
than "Aunt Hilda's 8th grader who knows Linux" can survive. And besides, he
might have homework the night your Linux box dies from buffer overflow, so
you'll spend that money anyway. Plan on, at least $500 to do the
install/config on site to replace the Novell disk/print services. And the
guy BETTER show up with a survey sheet to fill out that, at least, asks
about IP addresses, netmasks, DNS, etc.

First, you've got to decide on a Linux distribution. If he needs the ability
to add packages in the future easily, then RedHat is a clear winner with
RPM. Then you decide if it's going to be 7.3 (a relatively stable release)
or the new whiz-bang 8.0 (more risk, but with an abundance of new software
that provides amazing new functionality). The same could be said of any of
the other releases: Mandrake 9.0, SuSE 8.x, etc. To be honest with you, I'd
be willing to go with RedHat 8.0: it's been out since Lulu this summer
(what, 6 months now?) so all the bad bugs oughta be hammered by now and
Linux.Slapper worm is old news. http://www.redhat.com/apps/download/

You've rightly suggested SAMBA to replace file services, and SAMBA does a
great job with print services. But you've got to do a survey to find out
what the environment is like and get down and dirty with the services the
Novell server really does.

Migration of existing data off the Novell server is the most important
aspect of the Software/Administration "nut" to crack. You've got to have a
place to put the data so it can be moved over to the Linux box. If you can
roll a fresh new Linux box, that's the best of all possible options. Safe,
fast, and provides uninterrupted service to the network. Plus, you can
switch each client over to the new Linux box at your leisure. AND, guess
what: if you forget anything on the old Novell server, well, by golly, you
can just boot the box back up and copy it over. This can be an important and
vital approach to switchover, preventing the colors in your Superman suit
from running badly.

If you cannot build a replacement Linux server in parallel, you're talking
about much more risk and all weekend/overnight work (or whenever their
business downtime is). If this company runs 24x7 in multiple timezones, I
wouldn't even talk to them about switchover without building a parallel
system.

However, if they do business 8am to 5pm weekdays (or 9:30am to 3:30pm if
they are Road Runner or a state agency) and you have lots of time in which
you could go into Troglodyte Mode, then go for it. Just make sure you've got
a plain DOS filesystem (or something else Linux can read) somewhere big
enough to hold the data to be migrated. Then you can mount up the device on
the newly running Linux box and copy it back onto that nice new Maxtor drive
you talk them into buying.

Printing
--------
Are all the printers, say, HP with the "JetDirect" style of network
connection? Then a Linux box can talk to those, as they do provide a kind of
LPD functionality.

Say, you know what their server hardware is, and you know what their printer
connection method is. You can do a little research verifying how RedHat will
work starting with this page:
http://www.europe.redhat.com/documentation/HOWTO/HP-HOWTO/hp-hardware.php3

It's got a TON of information on server hardware that works with RedHat, as
well as how to drive the JetDirect-style of printer connection. Note good
news: the WebJetAdmin tool is now available on Linux! While this isn't an
admin-quality way to handle things, it makes a great tool for delegation to
local folks for printer administration.

RAID Array
----------
For that $4k Novell solution, there could be some software RAID capability.
You can do this with Linux, you just have to know if it's what they have
now. Linux also natively works with the Promise IDE RAID controllers, and
idea I got booed off one newsgroup for suggesting a few years ago. What an
idiot I'd look like if Promise hadn't taken the idea and made a few million
dollars off it. :-)

Anyway, you'd have to find out what kind of hard drives are installed (I've
assumed IDE in the paragraphs above) and ensure you've got what it takes in
the Linux distribution to drive the array. If we're talking about some old
'386 or '486 box with an old MFM or RLL drive, all bets are off. If it's a
SCSI controller and drives, it's workable but you've got to know the disk
configuration to make sure you can install and run Linux in a manner that's
cleanly bootable with what's there.

Backups
-------
If they actually don't back up this server, and have never backed up this
server, with no data loss. Then capture some of the air from the server room
in a jar, for it surely contains magic pixie dust.

Seriously, though. If they do not back up, then going to Linux provides no
lesser or greater risk then they now assume, since they are living under the
greatest possible risk.

However, if they do backups, and if Novell does it in an automated fashion
and some poor secretary goes in and changes the tape every night, then
you're going to have to make sure that same poor secretary keeps being able
to change the tapes every night. This isn't a hard thing to do, particularly
with some of the nice backup software that comes with Linux. There was
previously some discussion about AMANDA on this newsgroup, but it could also
be done with a fairly simple ksh or bash script and any of the built-in
Linux tape utilities.

That mysterious unmentioned backup device (if one exists) needs to be
studied for compatibility and usability. If we're talking QIC-40 floppy
tape, it might still be supported by Linux, but using it could saddle the
upgrade with heavy baggage. If it's 8MM DAT or 4MM DDS, that's something
that might be re-usable and even better utilized by Linux. If, for some
reason the person asking the question might want to do backups to CD, that
works best for incremental data-only backups, since CD's are typically 650
to 700MB. I don't know anyone who's backing up to DVD at this time.

For any 25-client business that generates data which cannot be easily and
quickly reproduced (or for whom there are lengthy multi-year data retention
requirements placed upon them by federal law, like biomedical, pharma or
financial) include a nice DLT or AIT drive into the expense calculations for
the upgrade. (Could that be a major component of that mysterious $4k
number?) While the added expense can give finance people a severe allergic
reaction, that same finance person will be sunning in Key West while they
push the system admin out a 10th story building for not backing up the
data....no one else in the company is allowed to usurp the technical
authority of the system admin without suffering the consequences of that
decision.

Linux Bonuses
-------------
The huge selling point to going with Linux (besides the absurdly low price
tag and abundance of expert technical information) is that this company
could get so much more functionality from a Linux server than from a Novell
server. OpenOffice is there to provide functionality similar to Microsoft
products of nearly-the-same name. Do they need a database? MySQL could do a
nice job in a small-to-moderate sized database. (Heck, they could run Oracle
8i if they were suddenly siezed with unbridled masochism.) Would like to be
able to do some FAX capabilities? KFax is there.  Need to serve web pages to
the company? Apache 2.0 is a stunning web server product that owns the 'net.
Mail server? Sendmail is there, but also qmail and some other nice mail
services. Instant messaging? It's there. Here's a cool little list that
gives a small overview of some extra apps that have value to small offices:
http://www.redhat.com/docs/manuals/linux/RHL-8.0-Manual/getting-started-guid
e/ch-applications.html

In fact, to get the whole story, there's an online "getting started" guide
that's very well written and comprehensible even to people with various MCSE
certifications:
http://www.redhat.com/docs/manuals/linux/RHL-8.0-Manual/getting-started-guid
e/index.html

Most importantly, Linux can offer some nice features when providing DHCP or
directory naming services for XP systems. Novell has started getting into
the swing of things with it's version of LDAP (do they even call it that, or
do they call it something different to make that $4k hurt less?). Linux
provides a nice, built-in DHCP server which can be configured this way:
http://www.redhat.com/docs/manuals/linux/RHL-8.0-Manual/custom-guide/s1-dhcp
-configuring-server.html

and LDAP is built-in so you can "slapd" and "slurpd" your clients to your
heart's content.

Good luck on this question. It's an important one which has been posed to
you and all of us are invested in helping you and your friend come to a
successful resolution (and get that invitation to the jumpin' office
Christmas party? :-)

JKB